Bauhaus University Weimar, Germany, with Van-de-Velde Building and Brendelsches Atelier

Project

Background
The Bauhaus University in Weimar has written important chapters of art and building history over the past 150 years.
Two important showplaces for this history were elaborately restored to celebrate its anniversary: the Van-de-Velde Building built in the years 1905/06 that has since been awarded the status of a UNESCO World Cultural Heritage site and the Bauhaus Atelier built in 1886.

Challenge
Due to their entirely different architectural natures, both buildings placed completely different demands on the glass products that had to be developed and their aesthetics and properties.

The monument protection authorities required a historically authentic, slightly irregular surface structure as well as transparency. At the same time, modern constructional parameters still applied for security, thermal insulation and protection against the sun. This called for a multi-pane glass construction that was completely different for each building, however. With the Van-de-Velde Building, the greatest challenge was to make the insulated glass structure much thinner than it would normally be so that it would fit into the historic window frames.

With the filigree, glazed metal framework (the roof and walls) of the Bauhaus Atelier, producing the so-called pattern dies, in other words panes with completely different angles, made it much more difficult to cut and join the glass sheets.

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Material

Solution SCHOTT developed a solution on the basis of its restoration glass TIKANA® for the Van-de-Velde Building. With respect to its appearance, TIKANA® satisfied the monument conservation requirements thanks to its irregular surface structure. Technologically speaking, the experts at SCHOTT even went one step further by applying a sun protection coating. The second interior pane consists of a float glass that features a thermal insulation coating. The intermediate space between the panes was reduced from approx. 16 to 4 mm and then filled with the noble gas krypton to increase the insulation effect.

SCHOTT also developed an innovative glass laminate for the glazed metal framework of the Bauhaus Atelier. This consists of the restoration glass RESTOVER® on the outside and extra-clear low-iron float glass on the inside. Due to its wavy surface, RESTOVER® resembles the window glass that was used around the turn of the century. Extra-clear low-iron float glass was chosen because it creates a clear impression without a green tint. The two elements were joined by several overlapping PVB foils that enhance the mechanical protective function of the glazed units and significantly block the level of UV transmission.